Definitions for pagerˈpeɪ dʒər

Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word pager.

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

beeper, pager(noun)

an electronic device that generates a series of beeps when the person carrying it is being paged

GCIDE(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

pager(n.)

A small electronic communication device which signals when a telephone call has been received at a base station. Each such device receives radio signals from the base station specifically coded for the individual to whom it is registered; the signal given by the device to the registered user may be a beeping sound, indicating that the user should call the base station to receive a message; or it may display a telephone number to which the user may call directly to return the incoming call, or may display a short message. Such devices are small enough to carry in the pocket or pocketbook, or to clip onto a belt or other part of the clothing. Also called beeper.

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

pager(Noun)

A device for receiving alpha-numeric messages

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

Pager

A pager is a wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays numeric or text messages, or receives and announces voice messages. One-way pagers can only receive messages, while response pagers and two-way pagers can also acknowledge, reply to, and originate messages using an internal transmitter. Pagers operate as part of a paging system which includes one or more fixed transmitters, as well as a number of pagers carried by mobile users. These systems can range from a restaurant system with a single low-power transmitter, to a nationwide system with thousands of high-power base stations.
One of the first practical paging services was launched in 1950 for physicians in the New York City area. Physicians paid US$12 per month for the service and carried a 200 gram pager that would receive phone messages within 40 km of a single transmitter tower. The system was manufactured by the Reevesound Company and operated by Telanswerphone. In 1960, John Francis Mitchell combined elements of Motorola's Walkie Talkie and automobile radio technologies to create the first transistorized pager, and from this point, paging technology continued to advance, and pager adoption continued to expand, until the early 1990s. However, by the mid-1990s, as cellular technologies became cheaper and more widely available, advanced services began to displace paging as a commercial product. Today, pagers exist largely as niche products, finding preferential use in applications such as hospitals, public safety, and retail locations where their simplicity, high reliability, and low cost represent significant advantages.

Sample Sentences & Example Usage

We used to have, when we were there -- it wasn't quite as up-to-date as it is today in terms of technology, but we had a basket outside the door to the Situation Room where any electronic gear had to go in that basket: a cell phone, a pager or whatever it might be, you didn't take it into the room, because it could conceivably be reversed engineered, or in some fashion, threaten security.